Within a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a wafer handling system may move wafers into and out of various process chambers to undergo processing. Some chambers may process simultaneously small batches of wafers (e.g., about six wafers), such as in a carousel processing system. Some known wafer handling systems may be capable of transferring wafers through a manufacturing process at a relatively high throughput, but may only transfer wafers one at a time.
Accordingly, improved wafer handling systems and methods capable of transferring small batches of wafers into and out of various chambers are sought.